Researchers at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles have made a significant discovery, unearthing the first extinct ice age amphibian from the area. The finding, a spadefoot toad named Spea labreae, was announced in a study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Discovery Details

The discovery was made by lead study author Dr. J. Alberto Cruz, a research associate at La Brea Tar Pits and a researcher for Mexico’s Quinametzin Paleontological Research Center. Cruz found two distinct fossils, both fragments of the sacro-urostyle, an amphibian body part that connects the lower spine to the hips, in a collection of specimens excavated in 1929.

The fossils, which are about 1 centimeter in length, were compared to other amphibian bones within the collection, as well as 80 specimens in the Herpetology Collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley. The comparison revealed distinctions in the fossil, indicating that the toad was a previously undiscovered species.

Significance of the Discovery

The discovery of the extinct ice age amphibian provides a glimpse into the prehistoric climate of Los Angeles and could help researchers protect endangered amphibians today. According to Dr. Emily Lindsey, curator and excavation site director at the Samuel Oschin Center for Global Ice Age Research at La Brea Tar Pits, the finding is significant because it doubles the number of known extinct ice age amphibians from North America.

Amphibians are sensitive to climate change, and their fossils can help scientists predict what the climate might be like in the future. The discovery of the spadefoot toad and another oddball amphibian, the Mexican burrowing toad, in the La Brea Tar Pits suggests that the area had a different climate in the past, with more precipitation and trees.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.